Following Human Appeal’s decision to dismiss the former CEO, subject to his right of appeal, the Charity Commission has decided to open a statutory inquiry as of 18 April 2018.

Human Appeal first submitted a serious incident report about our former CEO to the Commission in December 2017, which they describe as being “in accordance with best practice”. Throughout the independent investigation into the actions of the former CEO, the Charity Commission met with Human Appeal’s trustees and were kept informed at every step of the process. Following the conclusion of the investigation, Human Appeal provided the Charity Commission with the independent report we commissioned. After receiving the report, the Charity Commission has decided to open a statutory inquiry to confirm:

• whether or not the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities
as trustees under charity law

• the trustees’ management of relationships and work with other individuals, including donors
and organisations and their due diligence leading up to and during such relationships

• the systems and processes in place to ensure that the trustees are informed of matters at
the charity and their decision-making

• the financial controls and management of the charity’s funds and accounting procedures

The Charity Commission’s statement clarifies:

“The Commission stresses that opening an inquiry is not in itself a finding of wrongdoing. The purpose of an inquiry is to examine issues in detail, investigate and establish the facts so that the regulator can ascertain whether there has been mismanagement and/or misconduct; establish the extent of any risk to the charity’s property, beneficiaries or work and decide what action needs to be taken to resolve the serious concerns, if necessary using its investigative, protective and remedial powers to do so.”

If you have any further questions, please contact [email protected] and we will endeavour to get back to you in a timely fashion.